Weather report South Africa: Warnings hit five provinces
· The South African
Thursday, 3 September’s Weather Report shows the intense cut-off low finally arriving. It’s bringing damaging winds and disruptive rain to large parts of the country.
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SAWS has issued five separate warnings for Thursday and Friday. Together, they cover damaging wind, disruptive rainfall and severe thunderstorms across five provinces.
Extremely high fire danger also remains active over the central parts of the country, including most parts of KwaZulu-Natal.
Gauteng stays clear of any warnings and can expect a fine, warm day. A “high” UVB sunburn index is in effect, so sun precautions are worth taking if you’re outdoors for long.
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according to SAWS, the northern provinces stay calm
Mpumalanga stays fine and warm, hot in places over the Lowveld, with no warnings in place.
Similarly, Limpopo stays fine and warm, hot in places over the Lowveld and Limpopo Valley. It’s also warning-free today.
Meanwhile, North West turns partly cloudy and warm, with isolated showers and thundershowers possible except in the extreme east.
The Free State turns partly cloudy and warm with isolated showers and thundershowers.
In addition, a yellow level 2 warning for severe thunderstorms is in force over the western parts, with a risk of wind and hail damage, falling trees and fire incidents from lightning.
the Cape takes the brunt of it
The Northern Cape turns partly cloudy, windy and warm to hot, with scattered showers and thundershowers in the west and extreme south, cool to cold in the west.
A yellow level 4 warning for damaging wind covers the Namakwa district, and a separate yellow level 4 warning covers damaging coastal wind and waves between Alexander Bay and Plettenberg Bay.
In contrast, the Western Cape turns cloudy, windy and cool to cold, with widespread rain along the south coast and adjacent interior. Near-gale force winds are also possible along the southwest and west coastlines.
As a result, the province carries three separate warnings: a yellow level 4 for disruptive rainfall over the eastern Overberg, Garden Route, Langeberg and Laingsburg municipalities, a yellow level 4 for damaging wind over the Cape Winelands and Central Karoo, and a yellow level 2 for damaging wind over the western parts.
The western half of the Eastern Cape turns cloudy and cool with widespread showers and thundershowers, warm only in the north. Meanwhile, the eastern half stays fine and warm before turning cloudy with showers and thundershowers, widespread along the coast south of Coffee Bay.
Consequently, a yellow level 2 warning for disruptive rainfall covers the south coast and eastern parts, and a yellow level 2 warning for damaging wind covers the northern interior.
Finally, KwaZulu-Natal sees morning fog along the south coast and adjacent interior.
Otherwise, expect fine and warm to hot conditions, very hot in places in the east, turning partly cloudy to cloudy in the south by evening with isolated showers in the extreme south. The UVB sunburn index is “very high” here today.
why this system means business
The intense cut-off low behind all of this is expected to bring very cold, wet and windy conditions to the Namakwa district and the interior of the Western Cape by Friday.
As a result, SAWS has warned that small stock farmers in the affected areas should take precautions ahead of time.
It’s the kind of day where five different warnings are active at once. That’s a genuine reminder of just how much this country’s weather can vary from one province to the next on a single afternoon. Like we say “four seasons in one dy.”
are you in one of today’s warning areas, and how are you preparing?
Let us know in the comments below, Mzansi…